Oil fracking regulations OK’d

Sacramento  Oil and gas drillers that use a technique known as fracking would face new rules in California under legislation that was sent to governor Wednesday.

The measure includes a requirement that drillers disclose the chemicals they use in the process of hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting water, sand and chemicals into deep rock formations to release oil or natural gas.

Meanwhile, the Legislature advanced a compromise bill to avoid early inmate release but shelved a measure that would have allowed unauthorized immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

The Assembly voted 47-14 and the Senate followed up 28-8 to approve the fracking regulations amid concerns from conservation groups over last-minute changes affecting environmental reviews.

Evan Westrup, a spokesman for Gov. Jerry Brown, said the governor intends to sign the measure.

Environmentalists across the nation have raised concerns about fracking, questioning whether the chemicals used could harm public health or air and water quality. Industry officials say fracking has been practiced for decades, proving the technique to be safe.

Drilling companies are exploring whether fracking could help them access oil in California’s Monterey Shale.

Under Senate Bill 4, from Sen. Fran Pavley, D-Agoura Hills, state officials would have to complete a study by January 2015 evaluating risks from fracking and other well-stimulation techniques, such as using acid to break apart oil-rich rocks. The bill also would require drillers to seek permits and notify nearby landowners before starting work.

The legislation also calls for a state website to publicly list the chemicals used in fracking. Nearby landowners would have a chance to have their water wells tested before and after fracking occurs.

SB 4 was the only fracking regulation bill to pass the Assembly this year. A half-dozen measures proposing fracking rules — including one that would temporarily halt the practice — died in the Legislature in the spring.

After the vote, environmental groups blasted the legislation as weak and condemned changes that they say would exempt drillers from complying with the California Environmental Quality Act. Pavley’s staff disputes that view and says environmental reviews would still occur.

State lawmakers also approved a bill this week that would increase the bonding amounts that oil and gas drillers must post in case a well is abandoned or an operator is unable to pay for environmental damage. Under SB 665 from Sen. Lois Wolk, D-Davis, those bonding requirement would increase for the first time since 1998.

Another closely watched measure to provide driver’s licenses for unauthorized immigrants appears to have been dropped for the year after a last-ditch compromise drew loud protests from immigrant rights groups.

Assembly Bill 60 proposed a special driver’s license that would allow unauthorized immigrants to legally get behind the wheel but could not be used as identification to board planes, collect public benefits or register to vote.

The marker drew strong protest from the San Diego Immigrant Rights Coalition, which argued that it could open the doors to racial profiling and possibly put unauthorized immigrants at risk of deportation by revealing they are here illegally.